Ottawa crowns its first Miss Gay Universe

Miss Lux Darling shines in competition

Competition was fierce at the first Miss Gay Universe Ottawa Pageant at Icon.

After a splendid razzle-dee-dazzle shakala boom boom show from the four contestants, Miss Lux Darling knelt before a packed audience as pageant organizers pulled out the bobby pins to have her crowned victorious.

The event was hosted and promoted by Gia Maria Corangie, who bought the exclusive rights to the Ottawa pageant from Chris Edwards, former owner of Miss Gay Universe, in December of last year as a birthday gift for her drag daughter, Robin Corangie.

“The pageant was a lot of work,” said Robin at intermission. “You have no idea how hard these girls worked to put together the show tonight.”

Cordelia Corangie, Latisha Corangie, Lux Darling and Maxima Coverage were judged on presentation, hair, make-up and talent by a panel of six local judges. And although there was no swimsuit competition, the event delivered what it promised: a show enjoyed by all.

The evening was enhanced by the presence of Miss Ottawa Continental 2002-2003, Terri Stevens. While contestants prepared themselves for each stage of the competition, the audience was treated to Terri’s charm, style and raunchy wit. After intermission Terri gave a live performance of the ’70s disco anthem I Will Survive.

“I have been to a lot of drag shows,” piped up an audience member from New York, “and she puts most of our girls to shame. Most performers don’t use their real voices to sing.”

During the question and answer portion of the competition, the eventual first runner-up, Miss Cordelia Cornagie, was asked, “In your opinion, what is the role of the drag queen in the community?”

“First and foremost, the role of a drag queen is to entertain to bring joy to the audience and to work our ass off to make sure that everyone is having a good time.

“Second, our role is to look as beautiful as we can and to have a fun time doing it. If we are happy, then everyone is happy.”

Of course, in the event that Miss Lux Darling cannot fulfill her role as Miss Gay Universe, Miss Cordelia Carnagie will assume her duties.

First prize was $500 cash and prizes donated by local businesses and organizations. But more importantly, Miss Lux Darling has the honour of representing Bruce House at fundraising events, something that Lux thinks is “a very important part of the role.”

However, Miss Gay Universe is not without controversy. But then again, what would a pageant be without at least a few shenanigans?

Bazzillionaire Donald Trump is suing the founder of the Miss Gay Universe pageant because he thinks “people will confuse it with the Miss Universe Pageant,” which he owns. As she introduced the pageant, Gia smirked and said, “Well we know those other little girls are kind of pretty, but I am not sure anyone is silly enough to confuse our gorgeous queens with theirs.”

Even though the venue made it difficult for everyone to see the show, pageant organizers were very pleased with the turnout and the crowd seemed pleased that there was a pageant to come to.